The Woman
by powerstaark
Summary: These are some short stories about the possible identity of the mysterious woman in The End of Time. They all take place when the Doctor breaks the link between Gallifrey and the Earth. Also includes speculation about Rassilon's lethal gauntlet.
1. Romana

As Rassilon raised his gauntlet, ready to turn the Master into a pile of dust, the Doctor cocked Wilfred's pistol and aimed it at the Lord President of Gallifrey. Rassilon hesitated eyeing the Doctor warily.

"Choose your enemy carefully," he warned, "We are many. The Master is but one."

"But he's the President," the Master said from behind the Doctor, "Kill him and Gallifrey could be yours." The Doctor thought about being the ruler of Gallifrey and realised that would be the kind of selfish and power-hungry dream that the Master would have. He turned on his former friend and aimed the gun. The Master's eyes widened and he spoke quickly, "He's to blame not me!" The Doctor kept the pistol aimed at the Master. The other Time Lord spoke again, more calmly this time, "Oh, the link is inside my head. Kill me, the link get's broken and they go back." He looked at the Doctor contemptuously, "You never would you coward." The Doctor hesitated. His hand was steady but inside he was trembling with uncertainty. "Go on then," The Master goaded him, "Do it." The Doctor hesitated a moment longer then turned back to Rassilon. Rassilon's expression was calm, although there was still a hint of wariness; he knew the Doctor had been responsible for the Time Lock that had surrounded the Time War so he wouldn't put it past the Oncoming Storm to shoot him. "Exactly, it's not just me, he's the link! Kill him!"

"The last act of your life," Rassilon sneered, still looking slightly wary but his voice was dripping with arrogant contempt, "is murder; but to which one of us?" The Doctor stared at the leader of the Time Lords and then a movement caught his eye. He noticed a woman behind Rassilon, who he hadn't paid attention to before. She's had her face hidden in her hands but now she raised her head and looked straight at him. The Doctor froze in disbelief.

Romana.

When the Doctor had last seen her, Romana had been the Lord President of Gallifrey before she'd been replaced by Rassilon. The Time Lords must really have been desperate if they'd chosen a lunatic like Rassilon to lead them instead of Romana. She had grown more ruthless in her third incarnation but the Doctor still thought of her as a friend and Romana would never want to destroy the whole Universe just to save her own life.

Romana was still in her third incarnation, the last one he'd seen her in, but she looked much older, not only because of the grey hair and wrinkles but also because of her eyes. They were filled with the same kind of pain and loss that the Doctor himself had felt since the Time War. They were the eyes if a woman who had experienced so much hardship, so much agony and grief_._ Gone was the spark of youth the Doctor had seen in her previous incarnations. Gone was the light.

She was only in her third incarnation and already Romana looked as though she had suffered a thousand years of pain and suffering. Those old, pained eyes were staring straight at the Doctor. But they were not full of anger, hatred or the expression of one who feels betrayed. They were filled with tired acceptance. The Doctor realised that Romana had accepted that the Time Lock had been necessary and held no grudge against him for what he had done. The forgiving yet ancient eyes flicked towards the White Point Star which the Doctor had forgotten about. The Doctor took a moment to understand what she was thinking and then turned to the Master as Romana put her face back into her hands. The Master stared at the Doctor fearfully for a moment. Then the Doctor spoke.

"Get out of the way."

The Master looked surprised for a moment but then he smiled and ducked out of the Doctor's line of fire. The bullet smashed the White Point Star and a howling wind sounded throughout the room as the Time Lock began to close once more.

"The link is broken!" the Doctor roared and turned to Rassilon, "Back into the Time War Rassilon! Back into Hell!" He took one last look at Romana as she started to disappear back into the Time War. Her face was still in her hands but the Doctor knew that she forgave him. However Rassilon had never been a forgiving person and he certainly wasn't going to forgive the man who'd sent him to his death.

"You die with me Doctor!" snarled Rassilon, hatred and rage burning in his eyes. He raised his deadly gauntlet.

"I know," the Doctor said calmly. He did not try to resist or flee. He knew about the Hand of Omega; he had used it himself way back in his Seventh life and if it was capable of destroying a planet then he'd be a pile of dust long before he could leave the room. The gauntlet didn't even give a Time Lord the chance to regenerate. Suddenly the Master spoke from behind him.

"Get out of the way."

The Doctor looked at his old friend and foe and then stepped aside. The Master glared hatefully at Rassilon and sent a massive blast of electricity into the Lord President's chest. The hatred he'd felt for the Doctor for so many centuries was gone, having been transferred onto the man who had organised his insanity and ordered for the drum beat to be placed inside his head.

"You did this to me!" he screamed, "All my life!" Electricity exploded from his other hand striking Rassilon again. The Lord President collapsed in agony, "You made me! One!" He raised his other hand, "Two!" the next blast was weaker but still enough to cause Rassilon considerable pain, "Three!" The Master was using up precious life force, but he was too enraged to worry about his own life. "Four!" His life force burned out. As the Master moved closer to Rassilon the Time Lock exerted its pull on him too. If the Master hadn't been so exhausted he could have broken free; he wasn't in the Time War when the Doctor placed the Time Lock on it, so it wouldn't affect him as much as the others; but he was basically dead already and he'd run out of strength.

The Master took one last look at the Doctor, who was staring at his old foe. The Master had sacrificed himself for the sake of his oldest enemy. The Doctor thought he knew the Master so well but now he realised that he didn't know him as well as he thought. This was the second time he had misjudged the Master's character, the first time being when the Master had refused to regenerate after being shot by Lucy Saxon. The Master smiled.

Then he took one more step and allowed the Time Lock to suck him into Hell.


	2. Susan

As Rassilon raised his gauntlet, ready to turn the Master into a pile of dust, the Doctor cocked Wilfred's pistol and aimed it at the Lord President of Gallifrey. Rassilon hesitated eyeing the Doctor warily.

"Choose your enemy carefully," he warned, "We are many. The Master is but one."

"But he's the President," the Master said from behind the Doctor, "Kill him and Gallifrey could be yours." The Doctor thought about being the ruler of Gallifrey and realised that would be the kind of selfish and power-hungry dream that the Master would have. He turned on his former friend and aimed the gun. The Master's eyes widened and he spoke quickly, "He's to blame not me!" The Doctor kept the pistol aimed at the Master. The other Time Lord spoke again, more calmly this time, "Oh, the link is inside my head. Kill me, the link get's broken and they go back." He looked at the Doctor contemptuously, "You never would you coward." The Doctor hesitated. His hand was steady but inside he was trembling with uncertainty. "Go on then," The Master goaded him, "Do it." The Doctor hesitated a moment longer then turned back to Rassilon. Rassilon's expression was calm, although there was still a hint of wariness; he knew the Doctor had been responsible for the Time Lock that had surrounded the Time War so he wouldn't put it past the Oncoming Storm to shoot him. "Exactly, it's not just me, he's the link! Kill him!"

"The last act of your life," Rassilon sneered, still looking slightly wary but his voice was dripping with arrogant contempt, "is murder; but to which one of us?" The Doctor stared at the leader of the Time Lords and then a movement caught his eye. He noticed a woman behind Rassilon, who he hadn't paid attention to before. She's had her face hidden in her hands but now she raised her head and looked straight at him. The Doctor froze in disbelief.

Susan.

She was so much older than she had been before. Either she had grown into an elderly woman since he'd last seen her or this was one of her regenerations. She could be mistaken for his mother, but the Doctor would recognise his granddaughter anywhere. He tried to say her name but his lips wouldn't move.

Susan's death was one of his biggest regrets. He knew she had been involved in the Time War, although they had only seen each other once and only for a very short time shortly after the beginning of the war, before the birth of the Nightmare Child. Her husband with whom she'd fallen in love with back when he was in his first incarnation had passed away long ago; he'd been human and therefore did not have a lifespan anywhere near as long as that of a Gallifreyan. Placing the Time Lock on the war meant that the Doctor had basically exterminated the whole Time Lord race, including his own granddaughter.

And now here she was, staring at him sorrowfully and crying silently. Even after all these years, the Doctor knew that she still loved him and he loved her. Grandfather and granddaughter held each other's gazes for a moment, a moment that was far too short in the Doctor's opinion and then Susan's eyes flicked to somewhere behind the Doctor. At first the Doctor thought she was looking at the Master but then he realised she was focussing on the White Point Star, another link between Gallifrey and the Earth. He cursed himself; why hadn't he thought of that? Silently he thanked his granddaughter for sparing him from having to use the gun against Rassilon or the Master.

As he turned to his former friend, he saw, out of the corner of his eye, Susan putting her face back into her hands. The Master stared at him fearfully and for the first time since first aiming the pistol at Rassilon several agonisingly long moments ago, the Doctor spoke.

"Get out of the way."

**There's no point putting in the Master rescuing the Doctor since I already described that in the last chapter.**


	3. Mother

As Rassilon raised his gauntlet, ready to turn the Master into a pile of dust, the Doctor cocked Wilfred's pistol and aimed it at the Lord President of Gallifrey. Rassilon hesitated, eyeing the Doctor warily.

"Choose your enemy carefully," he warned, "We are many. The Master is but one."

"But he's the President," the Master said from behind the Doctor, "Kill him and Gallifrey could be yours." The Doctor thought about being the ruler of Gallifrey and realised that would be the kind of selfish and power-hungry dream that the Master would have. He turned on his former friend and aimed the gun. The Master's eyes widened and he spoke quickly, "He's to blame not me!" The Doctor kept the pistol aimed at the Master. The other Time Lord spoke again, more calmly this time, "Oh, the link is inside my head. Kill me, the link get's broken and they go back." He looked at the Doctor contemptuously, "You never would you coward." The Doctor hesitated. His hand was steady but inside he was trembling with uncertainty. "Go on then," The Master goaded him, "Do it." The Doctor hesitated a moment longer then turned back to Rassilon. Rassilon's expression was calm, although there was still a hint of wariness; he knew the Doctor had been responsible for the Time Lock that had surrounded the Time War so he wouldn't put it past the Oncoming Storm to shoot him. "Exactly, it's not just me, he's the link! Kill him!"

"The last act of your life," Rassilon sneered, still looking slightly wary but his voice was dripping with arrogant contempt, "is murder; but to which one of us?" The Doctor stared at the leader of the Time Lords and then a movement caught his eye. He noticed a woman behind Rassilon, who he hadn't paid attention to before. She's had her face hidden in her hands but now she raised her head and looked straight at him. The Doctor froze in disbelief.

The woman was his mother.

The Doctor had not even known that his mother was still alive during the Time War. He hadn't seen her for centuries. The last time he'd laid eyes on her was when he was ninety, which for a Gallifreyan was still ten years short of being an adult. She'd taken him to see the Medusa Cascade and told him that he would soon be a fully grown Time Lord and that it would be time for him to find his own path. He'd contacted her from time to time in his first incarnation until he had children of his own and then his daughter gave birth to his granddaughter, Susan. After that he had almost forgotten about her.

And now his ancient mother was staring at her long lost son sorrowfully. The Doctor had not realised how much he'd missed her. Without this woman, he would never have existed and yet over the centuries his memories of her had become faded and blurry. The only memory he could remember clearly was when they had visited the Medusa Cascade together.

There was so much the Doctor wanted to say but right now he had to save the Universe and even if the situation hadn't been so deadly he was unable to speak. His mother looked behind him at the White Point Star and the Doctor realised that she had saved him from having to shoot Rassilon or the Master. He turned to the Master, trying not to think about the fact that his own mother was going to die along with the other Time Lords and Ladies. Destroying Gallifrey once had been hard enough. Destroying it twice would tear him apart. Hell he wouldn't be surprised if he died of grief and had to regenerate, or perhaps he wouldn't bother with regeneration and just die. At least death would put him out of his misery. However the Doctor knew that he just couldn't allow himself to die. He knew that when the Ood's prophecy was fulfilled, he would try to save himself through regeneration. He could save the Universe, travel through time and space and destroy his home planet and his people but despite all the suffering he'd caused to himself and to others, he was still scared of dying. The Doctor spoke to the Master.

"Get out of the way!"


End file.
